Midwest Pizza Joint Makes Headlines for Testing Cicada Pizza

I think I speak for everyone here at the radio station when I say... NO THANKS!

The Pizza Bandit in Dayton, Ohio is getting national attention this week for a video that they posted on their Facebook page last Saturday. For whatever reason, the Pizza Bandit decided to cook up a pizza with a very unusual topping. The Facebook post reads:

"Introducing Spicy Thai Cicada Pie! That's an 18" handtossed dough with miso hoisin sriracha sauce, mozzarella and provolone, blanched and sautéed locally foraged cicadas, mushroom, cabbage, green onion, mango, cilantro, with a spicy Thai sauce after the bake and a Cicada wing adorned crust!"

Now, before you get too grossed out, you should know that the Pizza Bandit isn't actually selling the Spicy Thai Cicada Pie to customers, no matter how interested they are. They just cooked it up and tried it for fun. In fact, the Facebook post says they're not even sure if they can legally sell the bug-topped pizza! But hey, I'm sure all the national attention is good for business. I even saw an article from CNN!

Even though a lot of us think that the pizza sounds terrible, I'm sure you're at least a little bit curious about the reviews. Well, they appear to be mixed. Some people thought the pizza was good, while others had an issue with the appearance and texture of the bugs. An article from Food & Wine reads:

"Was it all worth the effort? The very first bite inspired one taster to proclaim, 'Absolutely delicious, just the cicada by itself.' The chef's first thought was more middle of the road, however: 'It's quite crunchy.' And the food scientist wasn't totally on board, concluding, 'It's not bad; the visual is just a problem.'"

I haven't heard of any Iowa restaurants attempting to serve people insects, but I know that Fong's Pizza here in Cedar Rapids is offering up a pizza topped with popcorn this month! You can read more about that HERE.